


One Day

by awoogah123



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Babysitting, High School Musical - Freeform, M/M, Soft andrew, andreil are babysitters, cute fluff, neil is broody, nicky and erik are married, nicky and erik have a daughter, soft neil
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-14
Updated: 2020-11-14
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:14:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,688
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27564370
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/awoogah123/pseuds/awoogah123
Summary: “Oh, shit. ItisNeil,” Andrew said, smacking the palm of his hand to his forehead. “I thought it was Ronald McDonald.”“What?” Neil asked, brow furrowing as he slumped against the doorframe.“The clown makeup,” Andrew said, rolling his eyes. Neil had completely forgotten about the makeup. “And the red hair really helps.”Neil offers to babysit Nicky and Erik's daughter whilst they go out for an anniversary dinner. He doesn't expect Andrew to join him.
Relationships: Neil Josten/Andrew Minyard, Nicky Hemmick/Erik Klose
Comments: 8
Kudos: 125





	One Day

Even through the thick wood of the front door, Neil could hear Nicky’s voice as he ran around the house like a headless chicken, tidying the last of the mess away before he left for the evening. It was Erik who opened the door a couple of minutes later, a grin on his face as he looked at Neil,

“Neil! Come in,” Erik said, stepping aside so Neil could step over the threshold. Nicky and Erik’s house was warm and always smelt of the familiar scent of fresh pine, Neil put it down to the air diffuser Nicky had gotten Erik for his birthday. “Thanks so much for this.”

“It’s no problem,” Neil shrugged, meeting Erik’s grin with one of his own. A couple weeks ago Neil had agreed to babysitting Nicky and Erik’s daughter, Emilie, for the night – it was the least he could do after all Nicky had done for _him_ over the years. Besides, he wasn’t going to begrudge them a night away for their wedding anniversary. “Happy anniversary, by the way.”

“Thanks,” Erik smiled, clapping Neil on the shoulder. “Nicky should be out in a minute, he’s just finishing tidying up.” Neil opened his mouth to ask _why_ Nicky was tidying up – it was only Neil, after all – but Erik just shook his head. “Don’t even ask,” Erik muttered, making his way down the hallway. Neil followed.

“Is that Neil?” Nicky called from upstairs.

“Yes, dear,” Erik called, catching Neil’s eye as he smirked slightly. “He’s very protective,” Erik said, slouching against the living room doorway, “he wasn’t too keen on leaving Emilie, but when you agreed to coming he cheered up a little.”

“She’ll be in good hands,” Neil said, trying hard to fight the unease that threatened to creep into his voice. It wasn’t that he thought he _couldn’t_ look after Emilie, it was just that he hadn’t exactly had much experience with children. Especially five-year-old girls. Erik chuckled slightly as he took in Neil’s shoulders,

“As long as the two of you are alive by the end of the night, and the house hasn’t burnt down, it’ll be fine.” Erik said, clapping Neil’s shoulder again before stepping out into the hallway. “ _Nicky_!”

“Yeah, I’m coming,” Nicky called, voice sounding clearer as he made his way down the stairs. Nicky was dressed in a white button shirt and some black pants and Neil raised his eyebrows, he was used to Nicky wearing a shirt and jeans. When he turned to face Erik, he realised he was wearing a similar ensemble.

“Where are you two actually going tonight, by the way?” Neil asked.

“This Italian restaurant Nicky’s had his eye on for a little while,” Erik whispered so that only Neil could hear.

“ _Romantic_ ,” Neil smirked, jostling Erik’s arm.

“ _Neil_!” Nicky exclaimed, jumping from the bottom step. He ran the short space between them and pulled Neil into a tight, breath-taking hug. “Thanks so much for this!”

“It’s fine,” Neil reassured, patting Nicky’s back as he slowly pulled away from the hug. “You two look good,” Neil said approvingly, looking between the two of them.

“Oh, how the tables have turned!” Nicky laughed, “Neil is giving _me_ approval on my _clothes_. And you’re still wearing Andrew’s clothes, I see.”

“Always,” Neil smirked, pulling the sleeves of Andrew’s sweatshirt down so they covered his hands.

“Cute,” Nicky grinned, reaching out and ruffling Neil’s hair. “Andrew not with you?”

“Babysitting’s not really this thing,” Neil said, crinkling his nose slightly.

“No shit,” Nicky laughed.

“So, where is she?” Neil asked, glancing up and down. Emilie was nowhere to be seen. Nicky raised one finger: _wait a minute_.

“ _Em_!” Nicky shouted from the bottom of the stairs.

A couple minutes later, Nicky and Erik’s daughter came running down the stairs, already dressed in pyjamas. She grinned when she saw Neil,

“Uncle Neil!” she exclaimed, running forward and wrapping her arms around his legs in a tight hug.

“Hey, Em,” Neil said, ruffling her hair whilst he wrapped one arm around her. Nicky watched on with wide eyes and brought his hand to his heart,

“Adorable,” he sniffed. “I think I’m going to cry.”

“Don’t cry,” Erik smiled, wrapping an arm around Nicky’s shoulders. “We’ve got a reservation to get to.”

“You’re right,” Nicky agreed, quickly composing himself. “Em, we’ve got to go now.” Emilie pulled away from Neil, turning to face her parents.

“Bye bye,” Emilie said, smiling and waving. Erik reached forward, picking his daughter up and twirling her around,

“See you later, princess,” he said, planting a big kiss on her cheek.

“Bye, Vati,” she said, giving him a quick squeeze. Once he’d put her back on the ground, Nicky stepped forward and pulled her into a big hug,

“Be good for Neil, okay?” Nicky brushed her hair off her face, “Love you lots, baby.”

“Love you too, Daddy,” Emilie said. She turned to look up at Neil, “You two can go now, me and Neil are going to play.”

“They grow up so fast,” Nicky said dramatically, straightening up.

“We’ll see you later, Neil,” Erik said, taking Nicky’s hand and leading him to the door.

“If you need anything just call us,” Nicky said, looking at Neil over his shoulder.

“Will do,” Neil promised. “Have a fun night!”

Once the front door had snapped shut, Neil turned back to Emilie,

“And now what?”

“Now we play!” Emilie grinned, grabbing Neil’s hand and dragging him down the hallway.

“Can I show you my bedroom?” Emilie asked once she’d gotten bored of colouring in.

“Sure,” Neil said, replacing the lid on the red felt tip he was holding, and snapping the colouring book shut. He imagined what Andrew would say if he saw him right now, making his way through a fairy colouring book – he almost laughed.

“Come on,” Emilie urged, her hand tiny in Neil’s as she led the way upstairs.

Emilie’s bedroom was painted a pale blush pink, and there were little paintings of fairies – courtesy of Erik – flying up and down her walls.

“So, you really like fairies, huh?” Neil asked, glancing down at her. Emilie looked up at him, dark hair framing her face, blue eyes wide as she nodded earnestly.

“I _love_ fairies,” she agreed. “Vati said he’d build me a fairy house in the backyard this summer.”

“That sounds cool,” Neil said, smiling down at her. Once she’d left Neil’s side and had started rummaging for something under her bed, Neil looked around. On one wall, there was a large collection of photographs – the majority of Emilie with her dads. There were a couple taken on hikes that Erik no doubt had dragged them on, a couple on vacations that Nicky had no doubt picked out for them. Neil couldn’t help himself but smile, he loved seeing how happy Nicky was. And for the first time in his life, although he’d never admit it, Neil felt broody. The thought of having children had never even crossed Neil’s mind before, he’d always just assumed that he’d never even get the chance. He’d also assumed that he’d never be in love. How wrong he had been...

“Here it is!” Emilie called, grabbing Neil’s attention as she pulled a small purple case from underneath her bed.

“What is that?” Neil asked, stepping forward to stand beside her.

“My makeup,” Emilie said – as if it was obvious.

“ _Makeup_?” Neil repeated, crinkling his nose. “You’re five! You wear makeup?”

“Of course not,” Emilie shook her head with a sigh. “My Vati wouldn’t let me, anyway. Auntie Allison got it for me.”

“Of course she did,” Neil said with a smirk. “Why were you looking for it?”

“Because I’m going to do your makeup!” Emilie said, flashing him a winning grin.

“You are?” Neil asked, raising his eyebrows. He _could_ tell her no, but he really didn’t want to upset her, and besides what was a little makeup going to do?

“Yes,” Emilie nodded vehemently. “Sit down on the bed.” Obediently, Neil dropped down onto her bed, he was pretty much eye level with her now.

Neil watched as she searched through the box, her tongue poking out slightly as she found what she was looking for. She pulled out a small eye shadow palette, in the shape of a butterfly, each shade was _extremely_ glittery.

“What colour are we going for?” Neil asked.

“This one,” she said, jabbing her finger at a dark purple. Neil swallowed his doubts and nodded,

“Let’s go, then.” 

Neil sat patiently, waiting for Emilie to be done. She’d opted for more than just the eyeshadow, giving him some blush and lip gloss, too. When she’d finished, she’d stepped back, looking over her work with a critical eye. She broke out into a grin.

“Do I look good?” Neil asked, raising his eyebrows.

“Beautiful, Neil,” she grinned. “You look beautiful!”

“Can I see?” Neil asked, slowly standing from the bed. She nodded, put out her hand for him to take, and led him to the bathroom. Once the light was switched on, it was a real effort to keep his face straight. The sparkly purple eyeshadow covered his eyes – reminding him a little of black eyes more than anything else – and some of it was smudged up to his eyebrows. His cheeks were painted bright pink, although the skin around his scars had been carefully left alone, and his lips were a pale, glossy pink.

“Do you like it?” Emilie asked, watching him excitedly.

“I love it,” he smiled, turning to face her. “You should totally think about taking this up as a profession.” Emilie gave him a small affirmative look before preceding him out of the bathroom.

“I’m hungry,” she called as she scampered down the stairs. 

Neil tried to ignore the way the heavy makeup sat uncomfortably on his skin, and listened to Emilie’s lecture instead on why the second _High School Musical_ film was _so_ much better than the first.

“And normally the first films are the best,” Emilie continued, barely pausing to catch her breath, “but the second one is just _so_ much better.” Neil paused for a second, letting her words sink in.

“So, let me get this right,” he smirked. “Your favourite one is the _first_ movie?” Neil asked. He instantly regretted it. His sarcasm was clearly wasted on her as she kicked into _another_ speech as to why the second film was _absolutely amazing_.

“And now we’re going to watch it,” she said, pushing the DVD into Neil’s hand. “Have you seen it before?”

“Can’t say I have,” Neil replied, making his way over to the large TV.

“ _Seriously_?” Emilie gasped. “How have you lived?” Nicky had asked Neil on _countless_ occasions to watch the movies with him, but Neil had always found an excuse. It looked like he wasn’t getting so lucky today. Like father, like daughter, eh?

After just a couple minutes of the film playing, and Neil getting _completely_ lost in _What Time Is It?_ , Neil was starting to understand why Nicky loved these films so much – they were pretty watchable. Then the timer on his phone went off.

“Em, I just need to go get the nuggets out, okay?” Neil said, standing up from the couch. “Fill me in when I’m back, yeah? Then we can have our dinner.” Emilie nodded, barely looking up at the screen. Neil stood there a moment longer, tempted to wait for the song to finish, but then he remembered Erik’s words from earlier, about the house burning down, and hurried to the kitchen.

As he was distributing chicken nuggets and fries between two plates, his phone started to ring. He raised his eyebrows a little when he saw it was Andrew.

“Hey, Andrew,” Neil started. “What’s u—”

“Where are you?” Andrew asked, interrupting him.

“At Nicky and Erik’s,” Neil said slowly. “I told you I was babysitting Emilie.”

“Oh,” Andrew paused for a moment, “you were _serious_ about that?”

“Yeah,” Neil raised his eyebrows. “I told you, like, two weeks ago.” He opened his mouth to ask Andrew what he was up to, but the line went flat. “Andrew? _Andrew_?” Andrew had hung up. As Neil pulled the phone away from his ear, he gave it a strange look – well, that was _peculiar_.

Slipping his phone back into his pocket, Neil finished dishing up the food and carried it into the living room. Somehow, in the time he had gone, the film had seemed to relocate to some sort of country club.

“What’s going on?” Neil asked, handing Emilie her plate of food. He surreptitiously slid his phone out and sent Andrew a text as Emilie filled him in:

_**Hey, you okay? You hung up.** _

When Andrew didn’t reply, Neil tried to cover his worries with junk food and High School Musical. It worked to a certain extent. 

Half-way through _Bet On It_ – which Neil had _really_ been getting into, there was a knock at the front door. Emilie dragged her eyes away from the screen and turned to look at Neil,

“Who’s that?” she asked. Neil glanced up at the clock, it had only just gone 07:00p.m., Nicky and Erik wouldn’t be home for _ages_ now. Besides, they wouldn’t knock, anyway.

“I’m not sure,” Neil said, placing his plate on the arm of the couch. “I’ll go check.” Emilie turned back to the screen and Neil made his way down the hallway.

Stood on the other side of the door was Andrew. Neil couldn’t help but grin.

“Andrew!” he exclaimed, “What the hell are you doing here?”

“I was looking for my boyfriend, Neil,” Andrew deadpanned. “Have you seen him?”

“What are you talking about?” Neil asked, smile faltering slightly. Andrew narrowed his eyes slightly before his eyebrows flew up, as if he was only just realising that it was Neil.

“Oh, shit. It _is_ Neil,” Andrew said, smacking the palm of his hand to his forehead. “I thought it was Ronald McDonald.”

“ _What_?” Neil asked, brow furrowing as he slumped against the doorframe.

“The clown makeup,” Andrew said, rolling his eyes. Neil had completely forgotten about the makeup. “And the red hair really helps.”

“Fuck you,” Neil said, fighting against a grin. “I personally thought I looked like I’d been beaten up.”

“Eh, the red cheeks and pink lips sort of ruin that aesthetic,” Andrew said. As silence fell on them, they stared at one another.

“What are you doing here?” Neil asked finally.

“I thought I’d keep you company,” Andrew shrugged. Neil scoffed.

“When I asked you if you wanted to come with me you asked me if I’d been in the head by an Exy ball.”

“And have you?” Andrew asked, cocking his head.

“No,” Neil said slowly.

“Then you don’t need me to explain,” Andrew shrugged, stepping into the house and pushing past Neil. “I want to spend some time with you.” Neil couldn’t suppress the grin that crept across his face.

“ _Neil_?” Emilie called from the living room.

“Coming,” Neil called, looking at Andrew for a second longer before heading into the living room.

“What’s the betting the little brat thinks I’m Aaron,” Andrew murmured under his breath. Neil glanced back at him with a raised eyebrow,

“Eww, I hope not. I don’t want to spend the evening with _Aaron_.” Neil ignored Andrew’s dramatic eye roll and stepped into the living room, reclaiming his seat on the couch.

“Who was i—” Emilie started, but she stopped when she saw Andrew in the doorway. “Uncle Andrew!” she exclaimed, waving wildly. Neil tried to not look _too_ proud, he shot Andrew a smug smirk.

“Andrew thought he’d come and see us,” Neil said, turning to face Emilie. “That’s nice, isn’t it?”

“Yeah,” Emilie nodded eagerly. “Come sit with us,” she said, patting the spot on the couch between the two of them, “we’re watching _High School Musical_.”

“Oh, good,” Andrew muttered sarcastically under his breath, still, he went over and dropped onto the couch.

Since Neil had been gone, he’d missed a lot of the movie, and he listened intently as Emilie passionately explained to him what was happening. As she talked, Neil’s plate soon turned empty. Neil glanced up at Andrew as he finished the last nugget,

“Did you just come here for free food?”

“Maybe,” Andrew shrugged, carefully slipping his hand into Neil’s. Neil smiled to himself. 

Towards the end of the film, Neil realised he’d barely been watching it since Andrew had come, all of his attention had been focused on his boyfriend. The way his blonde hair fell effortlessly across his forehead, the way his hazel eyes glinted as they watched the film. The fact that Andrew was _optionally_ watching _High School Musical_ made it even more adorable. Nicky would be beyond proud...

The makeup felt so uncomfortable, Neil wanted to rip his face off. He questioned how Allison did it everyday, and then realised that she probably _didn’t_ wear about fifteen layers of children’s eyeshadow. He had kept it on for a good couple of hours now, and he didn’t think Emilie would be _too_ offended if he had a quick bathroom trip and took it off. He slowly rose from the couch with a stretch.

“Where are you going?” Andrew asked, turning from the TV screen to look at Neil.

“Bathroom,” Neil explained, gesturing at his face. “Need to sort this out.”

“You can’t wait for the film to end?” Andrew asked, followed by a harsh _shush_ from Emilie. Andrew only looked slightly offended, and Neil bit back a laugh.

“No way,” Neil quickly shook his head. “I’ll be back in a moment.” Just before Neil left the room, Andrew called him back.

“Neil.” Neil turned around to see Andrew holding his phone up, he took a quick picture.

“ _Really_ , Andrew?” Neil sighed. “That’s low.”

“Go wash yourself up,” Andrew said, waving Neil with a small smile tugging on his lips.

After a good ten minutes of scrubbing, Neil was satisfied that the makeup was mostly gone. The purple eyeshadow had stained his eyes a little, so he only _slightly_ looked like a raccoon, and there were a scant flecks of glitter decorating his cheeks, but he figured he could sort that out later. When Neil left the toilet, he heard the low hum of Andrew’s voice as he talked to Emilie. He felt his mouth break into a grin.

The credits were rolling when Neil stood in the doorway of the living room, neither Andrew or Emilie saw him as they were deep in conversation.

“My favourite character’s Sharpay,” Emilie said, looking up at Andrew earnestly. “My daddy sings her songs for me.”

“Yeah, I think I might have heard your daddy singing Sharpay, too,” Andrew agreed, he had his back to Neil and was looking down at Emilie. Neil was sure he wouldn’t mind if he snapped a couple of pictures – in all fairness, Andrew had done the exact same earlier, and they did look _adorable_ right now.

“Sometimes he gets Vati to sing the duets with him,” Emilie giggled. “It’s really funny.”

“It sounds funny,” Andrew agreed, smiling down at her. “From what I remember, your daddy sings a lot. Does he still love _The Lion King_?”

“Oh, yeah,” Emilie nodded eagerly. “We watch it at least once a month. Daddy wanted to get a cat called Simba,” she paused, thinking to herself for a moment. “You and Uncle Neil have cats, don’t you?”

“Yeah, we’ve got cats,” Andrew nodded. “Maybe you can come round at some point and see them.” Neil was pretty sure his heart melted at this point. Seeing Andrew being ridiculously cute with Emilie, was seriously _not_ helping his broodiness.

“Can I?” Emilie gasped, “I love animals.”

“Sure,” Andrew shrugged, “I’ll talk to your daddy about it.” Emilie grinned, turning slightly and seeing Neil in the doorway.

“Oh, hey, Neil,” Emilie smiled, waving him over. “Andrew said I can come meet your cats.”

“Yeah, I heard,” Neil grinned as he stepped into the room. “That’ll be fine.” His eyes landed on Andrew, and the slight blush that was creeping up his cheeks, Andrew held his gaze, anyway.

“Staring,” Andrew muttered when Neil had dropped down beside him.

“That was one of the cutest things I’ve ever witnessed,” Neil murmured, reaching out and squeezing Andrew’s hand. Andrew quirked a brow slightly, but remained silent. Neil continued to grin at him. 

Once they had put Emilie to bed, Neil and Andrew returned to the couch. Andrew had his back to the arm of the couch and his legs were open so that Neil could lie between them, the back of his head resting on Andrew’s chest. Andrew had his hand buried in Neil’s hair, absentmindedly stroking it as they watched some crappy show on the TV.

“Andrew,” Neil said suddenly. “Can I ask you something?”

“Hmm?” Andrew murmured, urging Neil to continue.

“Have you ever thought about having kids?” Neil asked, figuring it was better to just ask directly instead of beating around the bush. If Andrew was against the idea, there was no point in prolonging it.

Andrew was silent for a moment, fingers settling in Neil’s hair. Neil was sure that Andrew was going to say no.

“I guess,” Andrew said quietly, taking Neil completely by surprise. “One day.”

“Oh,” Neil said, trying to cover his grin with his hand.

“Why?” Andrew asked, looking down to face Neil. “Have you?”

“I want kids,” Neil said quietly. “With you.”

“With me?” Andrew asked, smiling slightly.

“With you,” Neil confirmed, leaning up until their noses were basically touching. When Andrew gave a small nod, Neil closed the space and kissed Andrew. In that moment – and _every_ moment – Neil wanted nothing more than to be with Andrew _forever_ and to raise their own family.

“Just saying,” Andrew said, breaking away from the kiss, “our kid is _not_ playing Exy.”

“They might love it,” Neil pointed out.

“But they might hate it,” Andrew countered.

“But we’ll love them either way,” Neil said.

“I guess so,” Andrew said, hiding his smile with another long kiss he pulled Neil into.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed this! Please leave kudos and a comment if you enjoyed it!! :)


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